Providence, RI vs Nashville, TN
Moving from Providence to Nashville? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($524,867 → $455,958 median home) and taxes.
Providence vs Nashville at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Providence, RI, you'd need about $95,580 in Nashville, TN (−$4,420).
Livability — Providence, RI: 58 · Nashville, TN: 63 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,524 sqft in Providence vs 2,193 sqft in Nashville ($328 vs $228 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Providence, RI | Nashville, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $25,956 | $21,576 | −$4,380 |
| Groceries | $4,922 | $4,715 | −$207 |
| Transportation | $3,875 | $3,130 | −$745 |
| Utilities | $3,060 | $1,608 | −$1,452 |
| Insurance | $1,700 | $2,200 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $13,121 | $5,231 | −$7,890 |
| Total | $52,634 | $38,459 | −$14,175 |
Side by side
| Metric | Providence, RI | Nashville, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.5 | 97.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.82% | 3.80% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 8.8% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.78 | $5.52 |
| Median home price | $524,867 | $455,958 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.5× | 5.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.1% | -0.9% |
| Price per square foot | $328 | $228 |
| Median rent | $2,163 | $1,798 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.4% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.00% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.99% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.31% | 0.55% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,600 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 28 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,700 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.3 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $92 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $80 | $121 |
| Home internet / mo | $67 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 240 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 21 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 47.5 | 50.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 36.6 | 4.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 56% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |